We read all the lead to present a different history.
For the prime minister and the prime minister, many friends may not be clear. Xiang (丞相) is the title of an official position, while Zai Xiang (丞相) is not a specific position, but a generic term for the highest administrative officer under the emperor, such as Zhongshu Ling (中書令), Shangshu Shu (尚書仆射), and Menxia Shizhong (門下侍中) in the early Tang Dynasty. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there were Zhongshu Province and Left and Right Xiang Xiang, but in the first month of the thirteenth year of Hongwu (1380 AD), Zhu Yuanzhang officially abolished Zhongshu Province and deposed Xiang Xiang. However, after Ming Chengzu Zhu Di formally established the cabinet, the six ministries gradually became subordinate organs of the cabinet, and the cabinet scholars (especially the first assistant of the cabinet) gradually rose to a similar status as the prime minister.
▲The image of a civil official in the Ming Dynasty
Among the many "de facto prime ministers" of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Jue (xǔ), a cabinet scholar during the reign of Emperor Zhu Jianshen of the Ming Dynasty, was one of the most mysterious. According to the "Epitaph of Liu Jue" written by the Ming Dynasty official Shangshu Yin Min, Liu Jue's face was born with a pattern that was very similar to the word "丞", and an old man who read it said that he would definitely become a dynasty ruler. Indeed, Liu Jue became a cabinet scholar, and this official position was equivalent to that of a chancellor in ancient times.
▲Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen stills
Liu Jue, born in the first year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty (1426 AD), a native of Shouguang County, Qingzhou Province, was famous for his intelligence and studiousness since childhood. In the thirteenth year of orthodoxy (1448 AD), Liu Jue was awarded the post of editor of the Hanlin Academy. Emperor Mingying's Zhu Qizhen took a fancy to Liu Jue, who was knowledgeable and of outstanding character, and designated him as the tutor of the crown prince Zhu Jianshen. After Zhu Jianshen ascended the throne, Liu Jue, as an imperial master, was naturally highly valued, first as Tai Changqing, then promoted to the post of Zuo Shilang (左侍郎) of the bureaucracy, and soon after promoted to the post of Shangshu (尚書). In the eleventh year of Chenghua (1475 AD), after Liu Jue was ordered to compile the Wenhua Great Training, Emperor Xianzong further promoted Liu Jue to the position of Prince Taibao and a scholar of the Imperial Palace.
▲Ming Dynasty minister stills
At that time, there were three cabinet scholars in the imperial court, in addition to Liu Jue, there were also Wan An and Liu Ji, and the History of Ming commented that the three were "An is greedy and cunning, and Ji Yin is carved." Jue is slightly superior, Gu Xitan is on the theory, and the eyes of the people are manic. This means that Wan An is greedy and cunning, Liu Ji is sinister and mean, Liu Jue is better in comparison, but he speaks without scruples, and in the eyes of everyone, he is a bit crazy and impatient. In fact, Liu Jue is not manic, he just refuses to go with the flow, and his upright and outspoken behavior is considered by some people to be "rigid and manic".
At that time, there was a eunuch named Liang Fang, who was quite favored because he often collected rare treasures to offer to Concubine Wan Guifei, and then used his favor to go around doing something wrong. Lin Jun, a member of the Yuanwai Lang, once wrote a letter to impeach Liang Fang, but unexpectedly provoked the anger of Emperor Xianzong Zhu and was finally sent to prison for punishment. Therefore, all the courtiers did not dare to speak out again, only Liu Jue still vigorously defended Lin Jun, and finally persuaded Xianzong to pardon Lin Jun.
▲ Wan Guifei stills
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, there was often a dispute over the "foundation of the country", and courtiers often used all their strength to suppress each other in order to let their favored princes sit on the throne. The eunuch Liang Fang and the traitorous minister Li Zisheng and others "wanted to shake the Eastern Palace" and wanted to depose the crown prince Zhu Youfan, so they created many false statements to slander them. Liu Jue believed that the crown prince was a strict and serious person who had never made any major mistakes, so he insisted on advising Emperor Xianzong to make Zhu Youfan the crown prince. Later, the conspiracy of Liang Fang and Li Zi Province and others was exposed, and Zhu Youfan successfully inherited the throne, eventually becoming a generation of sages, known as Ming Xiaozong.
▲The tomb of Liu Jue in Gaoliu Town
In the third year of Hongzhi (1490 AD), Liu Jue died of illness at the age of 65. Speaking of which, Emperor Xiaozong was able to succeed to the throne, and Liu Jue, as a member of the Cabinet University, was indispensable, so after Liu Jue's death, Emperor Xiaozong posthumously gave Taibao and Zhuguo, gave Him Wenhe, and ordered the construction of a cemetery, and also personally wrote a tribute association "loyal to the country, allowed to be a generation of famous courtiers; filial piety to the township, can be regarded as the elder of the three dynasties", which can be described as the greatest mourning.
bibliography:
"Ming Shi Liechuan No. 56 Liu Jue Biography", "To the Crown Prince Taibao Hubu Shangshu and The Scholar of the Zhensheng Temple, The Taibao Yuwen and the Tomb Inscription of Liu Cemetery"
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